


Into The Night

by SaucyWench



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Vampire Hunters, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 02:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13603638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaucyWench/pseuds/SaucyWench
Summary: Another prompt fill for the Winter Fandom Raffle Exchange!Prompt 74 - Vampire hunter and vampire AU





	Into The Night

Fili stood still, listening to the dark.  Something was not right. 

Usually the dark was not quiet.  There were always sounds: small creatures scurrying around, a leaky pipe dripping, someone driving down the street outside.  During the day, even the basement floor of an abandoned office building should have some ambient noise. 

Instead there was a silence so profound, Fili wondered if he had gone deaf.  He scuffed his shoe on the ground to make sure, listening to the scrape of dirt under his sole.  It was stupid to make noise that might alert the vampire he was here, but he needed the reassurance. 

He hadn’t turned on his flashlight, hoping his eyes would adjust enough to be able to see his way around in the dark.  There had to be something to adjust to, though.  No matter what, he couldn’t see in pitch black.  There was no light down here with the door to the stairwell closed behind him.

They had gotten a tip from a reliable source that a vampire had holed up here, on the edge of town where most of the buildings stood empty.  The plan was for Fili to come down while Kili waited at street level and watched the exit.  If Fili missed his chance, Kili would kill the vampire when it emerged to flee.  It was a routine they had done many times before, and it always worked. 

But then why was Fili breaking out in gooseflesh, with the small hairs at the back of his neck standing on end?  Every instinct was screaming at him to run.  He held his breath and listened to nothing for a long moment before he shook his head.  He didn’t know what was wrong, but there was something. 

It would be fully dark outside soon.  They needed to leave.  He’d call a few hunters he knew, and they could come back tomorrow with reinforcements. 

He groped along the wall beside him until he felt the door handle.  He didn’t want to make himself an easy target by turning on the flashlight now, so he cautiously felt his way until he found the stairs.  There was not enough light to see in the stairwell, even with the door open on street level.  The need to leave overwhelmed the need for secrecy, so he pulled the light out, turned it on, and jogged up the stairs. 

It was later than he thought, which explained why it was so dark in the stairwell.  It was a relief to get out of the building, but they needed to hurry.  He couldn’t see the horizon because of the buildings, but the sun had already set.  There was still a faint light in the sky, but not much.  Not enough.

He looked around, but he was the only one there.  He’d left Kili right outside the door to the stairwell.  Kili should still be there, waiting to see if Fili needed backup.  Maybe he’d seen something, or maybe he found another door and was in a place where he could watch them both. 

Fili jogged to the corner of the building and stopped, looking down both streets.  It was growing darker by the second, and most of the streetlights in this section of town were burnt out or broken.  One lone survivor was lit, looking like a spotlight waiting for a dancer.  The oppressive atmosphere of the basement seemed to be carrying out here, too.  It was quiet, without even a breeze to stir the litter by the curb. 

“Kili?” Fili whispered.  He shook his head and called louder.  “Kili.”

The name fell from his lips and seemed to go nowhere.  It didn’t echo back in the silence or drift down an alley.  There was no reply. 

Fili jogged down to the other corner of the building, digging out his phone as he went and ignoring his growing uneasiness.  Maybe Kili had left a message.  They turned their phones off when they were on a hunt so an ill-timed chime or vibration did not give them away.  There was nothing waiting, though. 

“Kili!”  This time he shouted.  There was still no reply.  It felt like something large was holding its breath, waiting for a signal of some sort. 

After another glance down the road, Fili looked at the sky.  He was out of time.  He headed back to the car. 

Kili would meet him back at home.  If something went wrong, and contact could not be made in the moment, the plan was to go back to the house they shared.  Kili would be waiting for him on the old couch, drinking a beer and teasing about Fili giving in to his nervousness.

***

Kili was not at home.

Fili checked the bathroom, garage, and even looked in Kili’s bedroom closet just in case it was an ill-timed prank.  There was no sign Kili had come home.  Everything was exactly where they had left it that morning. 

That’s okay.  Kili would be home soon. 

***

Dawn came without a sign from Kili. 

Fili had spent the night checking and rechecking his kit to make sure he had everything he needed.  Wooden stakes, of course.  Colloidal silver, which worked like pepper spray if you got it into a vampire’s eyes.  Crosses, rosary beads, water, and bullets that had all been blessed by a priest.  A chain that had various holy symbols from different religions.  It was all there.  He didn’t use most of it, but it was better to be safe than sorry. 

As soon as it was light enough, he slung his pack over his shoulder and headed out. 

***

This time, Fili didn’t bother with secrecy.  He stopped and looked around before he entered the building, but the streets were just as empty as it had been yesterday.  He used a cinderblock to make sure the door didn’t close behind him, and went down the stairs.  Once he reached the bottom, he held his gun in one hand, his flashlight in the other, and tucked the colloidal silver into the special holster on his belt.  He took a deep breath then stepped into the basement. 

It was a big, barren space, broken only by the rows of concrete support pillars.  It was still deathly quiet, so the only sounds Fili heard were the ones he made himself.  He knew the flashlight was a beacon, making him an easy target for anything there, but he didn’t care. 

“Kili?”  He didn’t bother raising his voice.  “Are you here?”

He tracked the beam of light with his pistol as he slipped around one of the pillars.  There were a few signs of life scattered on the floor: blackened wood where someone had lit a small fire, empty beer cans, smashed glass.  Deeper in the basement he saw cigarette butts and a used condom.  There was an old pair of shoes against one wall, making him wonder how they came to be there.  He found more trash and discards of human life as he checked out the floor. 

He didn’t find Kili.

***

Fili sat on the couch all night, holding a book in his lap.  He didn’t know why he bothered.  He wasn’t reading it, and no one was around to judge him.  He didn’t want to turn on the television.  What if there was a knock at the door and he missed it because a movie was too loud?  Or maybe the phone would ring.  Maybe he’d at least hear the chime of a text or an email notification, anything to tell him what happened to his brother. 

He should call for backup.  There were other vampire hunters he could ask for help.  He could call one, explain Kili had gone missing, and within a day news would spread.  Hunters might squabble and argue, but they were like a family.  They would rally to help one of their own.   The town would soon be swarming with hunters and their associates. 

Fili stared at his phone where it rested on the coffee table.  All he had to do was pick it up and make one call. 

He did not want to examine why he was not calling for help. 

***

Fili jerked awake from a nightmare about teeth in the dark.  He scrubbed a hand over his face before he checked his phone.  No missed calls, no texts, no emails, nothing.  Just the clock and the app that showed it was a lot closer to sundown than was comfortable.  He hadn’t meant to fall asleep.

No matter.  He didn’t bother with the pack this time.  He tucked the colloidal silver into his belt beside the flashlight and slipped his handgun into a holster that rested at the small of his back. 

The number three was significant.  It had meaning in many cultures.  There was the Christian Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.  The Triskele, a triple spiral representing the Triple Goddess.  There is the three-fold law, and the number of the whole.  There is the tripartite nature of the world, encompassing sky, earth, and sea. 

This was the third night since Kili had vanished without a trace. 

Fili didn’t want to examine that too closely, either. 

***

There was still light in the sky, but not much.  In a few minutes, it would not be enough to be safe.  It didn’t matter. 

Fili didn’t bother looking around.  He saw nothing but the door in front of him, yawning open in invitation.  He couldn’t remember if he had shut it when he left or not.  He took a deep breath and then descended into the dark.  This time the silence felt expectant, like it was waiting for him.  He cast a look up, able to see the fading light in a sliver of sky though the open door, before stepping out into the basement. 

There was something in the dark with him.  He still couldn’t see, and he couldn’t identify a noise, but sixth sense told him he was not alone.  He took another step forward, away from the door, and rested a hand on his flashlight. 

“I’m here for my brother.”  The words slipped out before he knew he was going to say them.  It felt almost blasphemous to disrupt the stygian hush. 

Arms locked around him, pinning his back against a hard chest.  He struggled, but they might as well be bands of steel.  He couldn’t reach his gun, so he tried going for the silver.  A hand caught his wrist, pressing it to his stomach. 

“Stop.  Don’t struggle.”

Fili froze at the words.  He knew that voice.  “Kili?”

“Fee,” Kili sighed in his ear.  “You shouldn’t have come.”

A fang grazed the side of Fili’s neck, and he fought to get away.  Kili’s grip tightened around his chest.

“Quit fighting me.  It makes you feel like prey, and I’m so hungry.”  Kili’s voice dropped to a growl on the last word. 

Fili held still, trying to calm his racing heart.  “What happened to you?”

Kili laughed, but there was no humor in it.  “You know what happened to me.  They turned me, then left me here for you.  Your own personal time bomb.  Are you here to kill me?”

“What? No!”  Fili couldn’t keep the shock out of his voice.  “You know I’d never- “

“You should,” Kili interrupted.  “That’s what we do, right?  We kill vampires.”

All Fili could do was shake his head. 

“I’m already dead.  Tick tock, Fee.  Don’t come back.”

The arms around him vanished, and Fili staggered from the loss.  He snatched out his flashlight and flicked it on.  It was too late.  He was alone once more. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, kudos, and comments! 
> 
> As always, I am over at Tumblr. Feel free to leave a prompt, tell me about your headcanons, or just say hi! 
> 
> [ [My personal blog] ](http://myseri.tumblr.com/)  
> [[My writing blog]](http://saucywenchwritingblog.tumblr.com/)  
> 


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